


An Overgrown Cats Heart

by The_Fairy_Godmother



Series: Tales of Tiger Claw [2]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Captivity, F/M, Family Drama, Family Issues, Gen, Kidnapping, Mutation, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, descriptions of pain in young children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-05-08 12:41:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14694438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Fairy_Godmother/pseuds/The_Fairy_Godmother
Summary: This is the second in my Tales of Tiger Claw series, as I thought he was a very underrated character.This will explore how he went from playing in the park with his sister as a child to the most feared assassin in all of Asia.





	1. Through the Portal

Chapter One:

Through the Portal

The day had turned out to be beautiful, a blessing for the start of April.  There was a bright sun in a cloudless sky, with a mild breeze cooling the air of the small town in central Japan.  Everything was lush and green with a multitude of colourful flowers blooming.  There was a smell of fresh cut grass that lingered on the air of the well-kept street, which came from the manicured lawns around the army base.  There were even birds chirping and butterflies floating lazily from flower to flower.

It was far too nice to be cooped up inside of one of the small houses on the street.  

At least that’s what the eight-year boy told his mother, for the eighth time that day.  His black hair flying messily about his head as he hopped from one foot to the other, refusing to sit still even as he spoke to his mother.

“You know I do not like you to go out without me, nanny or your father, Takeshi,” the plainly dressed, young Japanese woman said with a hint of irritation in her voice. 

The young woman was a doctor at the military hospital, who specialised in cardiothoracic surgery.  She was not an exceptional beauty, but she was rather pretty, especially when she dressed up in something other than hospital scrubs or plain pantsuits.  Most people would agree that she should try a little harder, but she didn’t agree with their judgement.  After all, she was climbing a highly competitive career ladder, while being married with two children.  She didn’t need to look attractive, though she did at least try to make herself appear well put together.  And, she would also try to make her children appear well put together as well.

At the moment, the young doctor was trying to look through her case notes for the day.  She had barely glanced in the direction of her son as he came in to complain again.  She was going to be in surgery all day tomorrow, and she needed to review the notes so that she thoroughly understood the cases.  Though, she wasn’t making much headway due to her son’s constant interruptions.

“But, it’s so warm outside.  It’s as if summer is already here!  All I want to do is go to the park, I’ve been there plenty of times before.  It’s only two minutes from the house, and I can see father in the training grounds from there.  I promise I won’t talk to any strangers, look both ways before crossing the street and I’ll be really careful in the playground!” Takeshi whined as only an energetic eight-year-old boy could.

The young doctor sighed heavily, massaging her temple to rid herself of the headache that was building.  Then she finally looked at her eldest child.  He was a bundle of energy, especially when he was cooped up inside on a warm day.  Almost as if he was a tiger caged in an enclosure too small for him.  His bright brown eyes looked up at her with the most hopeful expression, almost pleading to be allowed salvation of a day out in the sun.  While his shiny black hair stood up at impossible angles due to his tendency to watch TV upside-down and from jumping around.  She would have to brush it later.

He had been underfoot all day, getting into everything and anything.  Normally, Doctor Yukimura would have had the nanny take both of her children to the park, just to get them out of the house and away from the television.  She didn’t like the idea of her children parking themselves in front of the television and not moving for several hours.  There were several children on the base whose parents had let them do that, and now they were severely overweight.  Doctor Yukimura liked her kids to be active, and it seemed that they preferred that as well. 

Unfortunately, their nanny had called in sick earlier that morning.  And, since her husband was busy all day training the new recruits, Doctor Yukimura had elected to cancel her clinic for the day and stay with her children.  But, her work as a surgeon couldn’t just stop because her children had the day off school.  She had to look over cases, write reports and complete some more training, if she wanted to advance further.

The young mother let out another sigh and looked past her son towards her daughter.  She was sitting quite contently, on the living-room floor, colouring picture of various animals.  The young girl’s hair was hanging down her back, falling into her face whenever she leaned forward.  It made her look so pretty and innocent.  The pink shirt that she was wearing was bunched up half way up her back as she knelled on the floor, showing the room the top of her flowery underpants.  But, the girl was so involved with what she was doing that she didn’t notice her lapse of discretion.

Her five-year-old daughter was less active than her son, but she followed Takeshi’s lead whenever possible.  When Major Yukimura had begun training Takeshi in martial arts, Ayako had toddled after them, trying to copy the moves.  Often falling on her bottom rather than executing the katas with the preciseness of her father and older brother.

Doctor Yukimura did have a huge argument with her husband when he started to take Takeshi through weapons drills.  He seemed very adept using the sword and was also proving to be a great marksman.  Much like his father.  Doctor Yukimura thought it was too dangerous to allow her eight-year-old, and by extension, her five-year-old, to handle such dangerous instruments.  But, it kept Takeshi happy and active.  And her husband was always with him.  Plus, he had promised not to let Ayako handle any of the weapons until she was older.

Another irritated sigh escaped Doctor Yukimura’s lips.  It would be so much easier if she let the boy go out.  After all, she could see the park from their small garden.  If she worked outside, at the garden table, she could keep an eye on him.  But, that would mean making Ayako move to outside as well.  She really didn’t want to disturb her daughter when she looked so content.

“Alright, you can go.  But, you can only go to park, where you can see the house.  And, you must take Ayako with you,” Doctor Yukimura said calmly, setting her notes down and looking at her son.  She calmly poured herself another cup of tea while she watched her son’s changing emotions.

There was an instant moment of relief when Takeshi was told that he was finally allowed outside, followed by a whine of annoyance.  It wasn’t as if her children didn’t get along.  In fact, they got along a lot better than other children she had seen.  It was more the fact that he would be responsible for Ayako when all he wanted to do was to swing and jump from the monkey bars.

“Either take her, or you’ll have to both sit inside and watch a movie,” Doctor Yukimura said sternly.

“No!  Don’t make us watch a movie, he’ll make us watch _Alice in Wonderland_ , again!  He’s obsessed with that movie!” Ayako’s desperate sounding voice called her place on the living room floor.  This caused a small cry of denial from Takeshi, even though it was completely true.  The young boy seemed to be obsessed with that story.  He had even tried to walk through the bedroom mirror a few times.  He was certain that one day he would find a way to a magical land.

“Fine!  Fine, I’ll take Ayako with me!  Let’s go!” Takeshi called, before running into the living-room, taking his sisters hand and dragging her out the door without so much as a backwards glance.

Doctor Yukimura smiled with relief as her children were finally out of her hair for a little while and she would finally have some peace and quiet to finish her work for the day.  She gathered up her notes, and walked outside, setting herself up in the small garden.  She watched as her two kids ran, hand in hand towards the park, specifically the merry-go-round, and smiled.  Her focus was then on her case notes, once again. 

After all, the children were within eyesight of the house, just outside the perimeter of the army base.  Nothing could possibly happen to them.

 

***

 

 

Takeshi took after his father in a number of ways.  From his light brown eyes, to his defined cheekbones, just hidden underneath a layer of baby fat.  He would be tall and broad, again, like his father.  As well as that, he loved to learn to fight.  And had a strong desire to learn new things.  That was part of the reason that Major Yukimura had begun training his son in martial arts.

But, his most distinctive trait that was inherited from his father was his stubbornness.  Major Yukimura refused to call it that, he would always say it was a desire to not give in.  A desire to always be the best.  Doctor Yukimura would just shake her head complaining that he was stubborn about being stubborn.  Yet, it was how the young major had risen so far in the army in such a short space of time.  That was another reason why Major Yukimura had begun to teach Takeshi martial arts.  He hoped that it would direct his stubbornness in a worthier direction, other than refusing to eat his vegetables.

When Takeshi had wanted to learn martial arts, despite being so young, he had not giving in when he was told no.  He snuck into the training grounds, watched his father, who had been trained by his father.  The young boy would then copy the moves, as much as his young body could.  He had hurt himself a few times, and, as a result, his father had elected to start training him himself.  Takeshi’s parents hoped that this would make it a little safer.  And, the Major had promised Takeshi that when he was older he would send him to train under a great ninja master, like he had done when he was younger.

Ayako on the other hand, was not as stubborn.  Unfortunately, she hero-worshipped her older brother.  And, if Takeshi had an interest in something, then she would have an interest in it too.  That was why she was now beginning to learn to fight as well.  Though, she didn’t have the same aptitude for it like Takeshi did.

She was a very pretty little girl.  She had darker eyes than her brother, more similar to her mother than her father, but everything else was almost identical to her brother.  Except her height, she was more than likely going to a little taller than her mother, but a lot shorter than Takeshi.  Her black fell down her back, and was so silky that it was easy to brush straight.  Her mother hoped that she would never cut it short, like she had done and would keep it long.

Takeshi and Ayako were both very athletic.  As, neither the children nor their parents liked them to be sedentary.  They would rarely sit in front of the TV, preferring to go out and play.  Though, they did like watching movies.  Takeshi had a soft spot for _Alice in Wonderland_ and would be happy to watch that again and again and Ayako loved _Cinderella_.  Ayako was very lean, though she still had quite a bit of baby fat.  Whereas, Takeshi had already begun to develop toned muscles due to his martial arts training.

The two Yukimura children were also exceptionally close.  Which was lucky, as Ayako would follow Takeshi everywhere.  Often getting into everything that Takeshi would.  But, he was very protective of his younger sister.  And would do whatever it took to make her happy.  There were times when Takeshi had gotten into a few fights to protect his sister from bullies.  And every time that a teacher had called their home, or he had arrived with bruises on his face, Takeshi would get a stern dressing down from his mother.  Which was then followed by praise from his father, as the Major had instilled a sense of duty into the young boy and he was glad that his son was taking it seriously.

They were both quite clever as well.  So far, the reports from their teachers had made both Doctor and Major Yukimura proud.  Both parents had high hopes for their children.  They had their whole future ahead of them

 

***

 

The park wasn’t very crowded, as many of the families that lived around the army base had left for the long weekend.  There were a few children that were from Takeshi’s and Ayako’s primary school already there, with a few of the older children off to the side, just hanging out around the trees and benches.  As well as a couple of teenagers from the high school trying to smoke without drawing the attention of the soldiers practicing their katas and drills on the square.

Ayako saw their father leading the katas and gave a very exuberant wave.  She loved to watch her father practice martial arts.  She loved to hear him tell stories of the times that he was training in a ninjutsu clan further south.  His movements were so fluid and strong, that just watching him made her feel safe.  she had begun to get that feeling when Takeshi trained as well, though her older brother still lacked the grace and strength of their father.

Of course, their father didn’t return the wave that his daughter had given him, though he had seen it.  He couldn’t show such a lack of decorum while he was working.  And, although she had been given this reason many times before, it would still upset Ayako.  Though, their father did nod in their direction, indicating that he had seen his children.

“He can’t wave back, but look, he sees us.  And he’ll probably come and get us when he’s done, so we can play with him,” Takeshi reasoned in a cheerful tone, making his sister smile.  Even, if he knew it wasn’t true, it was worth the small white lie to make his sister smile again.

It wasn’t as if Major Yukimura was unfeeling, or uncaring.  He was just a high-ranking officer in the Japanese army, who had been raised by a high-ranking officer in the Japanese army.  And so on, through their entire family history.  And it was expected that Takeshi would follow his father’s footsteps.

Once his younger sister was placated, he pulled her over to swings.  She always enjoyed swinging high and fast, so high that she could see into their garden.  Into the manicured flower beds that their mother painstakingly kept.  And that Takeshi accidently ripped apart a few weeks ago, after falling from their garden fence.  As punishment, Takeshi had to replant the entire garden, as well as every other garden on their street.

That had been a very bad day for Takeshi.  His mother had yelled at him for what felt like hours, while his father looked disapprovingly on.  He hated feeling like he had disappointed or shamed his parents.  All he had been trying to do was some of the exercises that he saw his father doing earlier that day, with the recruits.  His father was an expert martial artist, having won many contests in his youth.  And all Takeshi wanted was to be just like him, to make him proud.

The young boy shook out his dark thoughts of being a disappointment long enough to wave at his mother.  The young doctor waved back, before she sat down at the garden table and busied herself in her work once again.  She would look up every few minutes, to check that her children had not gotten into too much mischief while off by themselves.

“Come on Ayako-chan, let’s go on the merry-go-round!  I wanna see how fast we can spin it!” Takeshi said enthusiastically, jumping from the swing as he did so.  He landed smoothly on the ground, and took off running.

Within seconds Ayako was chasing after her older brother, and gaining ground.  For, although she was small and young, she was fast.  The young girl had won all the foot races in her kindergarten’s sports day a few weeks earlier.

There was no one on the merry-go-round, which meant that Takeshi and Ayako had free reign to try and make the thing break the sound barrier.  As they had tried every other time they had been on the playground apparatus.  Though, they had yet to achieve their goal they were both convinced that it could be done and that they were very close to doing it.

Takeshi would start spinning the contraption, while Ayako held on and yelped with joy.  She would scream for her older brother to make it go faster, until Takeshi felt like he was being pulled rather than pushing.  At that point he would jump on, short black hair flying and obscuring his vison, and they would ride out the spin.  Laughing madly all the way round, until they couldn’t breathe.  They would then repeat the procedure several times, until they both could not stand from the effort of pushing and from laughing.

At least, that was the usual course of events.  But, it was not going to be a usual day as something extraordinary suddenly occurred in the small park.  It was Ayako who noticed first, cutting off her panting laughter and staring at something just behind Takeshi.  The young boy turned around, curious to see what had caused the sudden change in his sister.  And became equally shocked and silent.  Just like the few other children that were in the park.

There was a magic pink door that had appeared just in front of the merry-go-round.  It was triangular in shape and seemed to be floating in mid-air, just a few centimetres above the ground.  It seemed to be made of a shimmering substance that didn’t look solid, or liquid, but was solid enough to obscure what was behind it.

Most of the children were backing away from the magic door.  Scared by how suddenly it had appeared and unsure of what had caused it.  But not Takeshi.  The young boy stared the door down, stepping in front of it to try and peer inside.

“Big brother!  Be careful!  Don’t get too close!” Ayako’s concerned voice called out from behind the young boy.

“Don’t you want to find out what it is or where it goes?” Takeshi replied, quickly glancing behind him to see his sister’s worried face, while his own face shined with wonder.  The prospect of adventure blazing brightly within his heart and the magic door beckoning him forward towards it.

“How do you know it’ll go anywhere?  It might you destroy anything that it touches!” Ayako yelled, looking around at all the other children who were running away from the glowing thing. 

“Because, it’s magic!  How else could it have appeared here, in front of us!  It wants us to go through.  Just think of the adventure, Ayako-chan!  Don’t you want to see where it would send us?  What sort of world that it will take us to?” Takeshi looked back, almost desperately.  He needed Ayako to want to come with him. 

Ayako was feeling torn though.  She did want to go wherever her brother went, and she knew that he would never put her in danger willingly.  But, she felt scared.  The magic door could take them to a magical realm, or it could take them somewhere nightmarish.  The young girl looked around, hoping her mother or her father would have seen them, so that they would make the decision for her.  Unfortunately, both were busy with their respective jobs.  Neither had noticed the children flocking from the park.

“Ayako, please.  I don’t want to do this without you.  You do trust me, don’t you?” Takeshi asked, holding out his hand for his sister to take.

“Of course, I do, Takeshi-san,” Ayako replied, taking her brothers hand and allowing him to pull her from the merry-go-round and into the unknown.

With one final look back, in the direction of their little house and garden, Ayako and Takeshi disappeared into the pink, shimmery door.  Which then disappeared from sight, leaving only an empty park, with an empty merry-go-round that was still slowly spinning.

 

***

 

Doctor Yukimura sighed into her cup of tea.  It was so refreshing to have tea in the garden, on such a nice clear, sunny day.  She had so far gotten a lot of work done, now that she had quiet to do it.  Her notes were written up and ordered, her case studies researched, and her schedule and procedures committed to memory. 

She brought the cup up to her mouth, taking a small sip.  It had gone cold.  That was strange, she could have sworn she only just made this pot of tea, but the liquid was stone cold.  She must have been more focused on her work than she thought.  Doctor Yukimura could now feel the slight chill in the air as early evening was approaching.

“I should probably call the children in, it will be time for dinner soon,” Doctor Yukimura said to herself with a slight groan. 

She remembered that the nanny was not here today, and that she was responsible for cooking for her husband and children.  And, while she was more than capable of making a simple meal, she was not the best cook around.  She supposed that they could all go out for dinner, there were many restaurants around the base and it would be easier than cooking.

Nodding to herself, as she cemented the plan in her mind as she knew her husband would not object.  After all, he knew she was somewhat lacking in domestic skills, that was why they had a nanny.  Doctor Yukimura picked up her books and notes, piling them together before she looked in the direction of the park.

The sight before her stopped her dead, halfway between piling her things together.  The park was completely deserted.  That should have been impossible.  That park was never empty, even when it rained.  There was always someone on the playground, or on the grass.

Dropping her things, Doctor Yukimura jogged out of her garden and begun a quick pace down the street.  As she did she scanned up and down the street, taking note of all the young children Takeshi and Ayako’s age.  Children who would have been in the park, but were currently crying to their parents in their various gardens.

She had now broken out into a run, causing many of the adults on the street to look in her direction.  It was very rare to see such a competent, and cool, young doctor rushing around the street in her house slippers. 

Having finally arrived at the park, Doctor Yukimura vaulted over the fence, feeling the desperation and fear clawing at her heart.  She ran into the middle of the playground, scanning the area.  She took note of all the abandoned toys, candy and books that littered the ground.  As if several children had suddenly taken off in terror towards home.

“TAKESHI!  AYAKO!” Doctor Yukimura screamed, drawing the attention of everyone down the street and on the parade square.

Major Yukimura saw his wife screaming his children’s names.  She looked frantic and worried, causing a horrible thought to twist in his chest.  The Major suddenly abandoned his post, dropping his bokken onto the ground, while several of his recruits followed.

“Azami-san, what is wrong?” came the sudden voice of Major Yukimura.  He took hold of his wife’s shoulders, pulling her towards him and making her face him.

“Takeshi, and Ayako, they were just here.  And I can’t find them,” Doctor Yukimura replied, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

“What?  How could that have happened?  Why were you not watching them?” Major Yukimura shouted, his voice raising with each word spoken.  He looked around the playground, taking in the sights of abandoned play.

“Major, Doctor, my son has told me that something appeared in the playground, a door of some kind.  And that Takeshi and Ayako ventured into it,” said one of the other mothers who lived on the street.

“What are you babbling about!  That makes no sense!  How could a door appear?  No, something else must have happened,” Major Yukimura said, as his eyes darted from place to place.  As if he was trying to find some other explanation.

By this time, the park was full of concerned parents, sniffling children, and soldiers.  Each member of the crowd was looking between the distraught parents, and at the scene in the park.  All the parents had been told the same thing.  That a magic door had appeared and that the Yukimura children had walked through it, before it disappeared.  No one believed this though, but it was obvious that the two young children had somehow disappeared.

“We will start to look for you children, Major.  I will get the other recruits, and anyone else who is willing to help, while the others begin the search,” one of the young recruits said.  He then gestured towards his comrades and ran off in the direction of the base.  The other recruits began to spread out, searching for any sign of the children.

Several of the fathers in the group joined the search, and within the hour most of the residents of both the army base and the small suburb had volunteered for the search party.  While, several other mothers kept Doctor Yukimura company, Major Yukimura headed up the search.

By night fall, their plight was being broadcasted on the local news station, asking for anyone with information to come forward.  But no one ever did, and no one paid much mind to the voices of the other children who continued to explain that a magic door had spirited the siblings away.


	2. Terror, Horror and Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened after they walked through the portal into dimension X? Two small Japanese children when the Kraang were mostly focused on New York?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of pain and gore here towards two young children, you have been warned.

Terror, Horror and Pain

 

It took Takeshi maybe two seconds before he realised that going through the magic door was a bad idea.  As soon as the two children were on the other side, they both began to choke, unable to breath.  The pink air seeped into their lungs and it almost burned.

Takeshi watched as his sister dropped to the ground, clutching both her throat and her chest.  Her eyes became glassy and wide, tears streaming down her face in panic, as she searched out for her brother.  She reached out for him, before she lost consciousness and stopped moving completely.

The young boy tried to reach Ayako, but he was also running out of air.  Takeshi tried to hold his breath, not wanting to waste a single molecule of oxygen.  He reached out and grabbed his sister’s hand, dragging her back towards the shimmering, pink door.  If he could just get to it, then they could go home.

Unfortunately, it was too far away.  When they had materialised into this world they had fallen a few feet from the door.  Now, it felt like it was miles away, and getting further away rather than closer. 

Yet Takeshi wouldn’t give up.  He had made them go through the magic door, and he was going to get both himself and his sister home safely.  He could make it, if only could go a little further.

The desire to breath in was making his chest burn, and his head spin.  His legs began to feel too heavy, and the weight of Ayako was dragging him down.  Takeshi fell to his knees, reaching with his free hand towards the magic door, when it suddenly vanished from his sight.

His shock at seeing their way home disappear made the boy take in a shocked breath.  Then, his lungs really began to burn.  Takeshi clutched his throat as he fell to the floor, convulsing, trying to catch his breath.

Just before he blacked out he saw something move.  Several somethings.  What looked like robots, with something pink in the middle. 

Takeshi didn’t have time to process what was happening before he passed out.  The only thing on his mind was an apology to whatever god was listening, and prayers that his sister would forgive him for what he had caused her.  He hoped that she didn’t suffer the pain that he was suffering, and that it would be over soon.

 

**

 

The robots with the squishy pink middles, otherwise known as the Kraang, were very surprised to see a couple of small humans coming tumbling out of the portal and into their large lab.

They had been experimenting with their portal projection, hoping to be able to make portals appear in any location that they wanted on Earth.  This portal was in Japan, which was on the other side of the world to where they were planning to start their invasion.  They could see into the small area where the portal had opened and had taken note of the small humans playing in front of the portal.

The Kraang had assumed that all the small humans had run, and had not anticipated the two that walked through.  They had watched as the two small humans gasped for air, before falling to the ground unconscious and convulsing.

“What are we to do with the small humans who have walked through the portal, Kraang?” asked one of the Kraang droids.  This Kraang droid looked the most robotic of the two, as you could see the metal skeleton of the droid.  His large, pink eyes looked at the two children who were now lying at his feet.

“We shall take the small humans, who have walked through the portal, back to lab where we keep the humans who will be used for testing the mutagen, Kraang,” replied the other Kraang droid.  This had a blue, opaque plastic resin that seemed to cover his metallic skeleton.

“Before we take the small humans to where we keep the other humans, we must stabilise the small humans, as humans cannot breathe the atmosphere of our home, Kraang,” stated the first Kraang.

“Indeed, Kraang, we shall have to quicken our pace, for it looks like the smallest of the small humans might expire soon,” answered the second Kraang.

For all their talk of hurrying, it took the two Kraang droids a while to begin to help both Takeshi and Ayako.  The two aliens in robot bodies were able to lift the two children, as if they weighed nothing.  They then put them both into pods, and drained the atmosphere from it, replacing it with the nitrogen and oxygen mixture that covered Earth.  This allowed both Takeshi and Ayako to begin to breathe again, though only time would tell if the atmosphere had had an effect on their developing bodies.

“Why is there a delay in the portal control research, Kraang?” came the monotoned and synthesised voice of a third Kraang.  The Kraang bot had the body and face of a human man.  Though he seemed to have a rather impassive face.

“We are sorry for the delay in the portal control research, Kraang.  Two small humans came through the portal, during the portal control research experiment.  We are going to deliver them to Kraang, so that they might be used for the mutagen research, Kraang,” replied the first Kraang.

“That is a good idea, Kraang.  Kraang, was saying in the recent past, that he would like to find small humans to use in the mutagen experiment to see what the effects of mutagen will be on small humans.  We have not managed to gather small humans before as they are always with the larger parental unit humans.  I will tell Kraang of this plan for the small humans.  Kraang, you will take the small humans to the enclosures where the humans that are being used in that experiment are being held,” the human looking Kraang robot said, before he turned on his heel and walked off.

“Kraang is always telling Kraang what to do,” said the blue tinted Kraang droid, with a hint of bitterness to this synthesised voice.

“Stupid Kraang,” added the metallic Kraang droid, in an irritated voice.  Or as irritated as a synthesised, monotoned, robotic voice could be.

The two Kraang droids put the pods, that contained the two young children onto a floating trolley.  The blue droid then began to attach a control panel to the pod that contained Takeshi, while the metallic droid did the same to the pod that contained Ayako.  Once this was done, both the panels started to emit a steady beeping.

At first, the beeping was loud, fast and slightly irregular.  The droids listened to these beeps, and began to press several buttons and turn a few dials.  The pods were then filled with a mixture of vaporised medicine, while the gas contents were adjusted accordingly.  After a few minutes of listening, then fiddling with various controls, the beeps began to slow, until the beeping resembled a regular, human heartbeat.

“The small humans appear to be stable now, Kraang.  It would be a good time to transport them to the place where Kraang is,” the blue tinted Kraang said.

The two children, still unconscious within their pods were transported down the long hallway, towards the lab where other human captives were being kept.  This Lab contained dozens of large, glass pods, with people from all walks of life.  Yet, Takeshi and Ayako were the only children. 

There were also other strange creatures in some of the pods.  Creatures that looked like something from mythology or a fairy tale.  Creatures that seemed to be part animal, and part human.  Who were crying and begging to be let out, while clawing at the glass with real claws.  While some were just whimpering in the centre of their pods, curled in on themselves.

The two Kraang bots dumped the two children into one pod.  Since they were so small there didn’t seem to be much call in wasting two pods.  The two children were still unconscious, so were just placed on the floor and the door was closed, trapping them in another glass prison.

 

*

 

It took a few minutes before Takeshi became fully aware of himself.  His head was splitting and spinning at the same time, and it hurt to take a deep breath.  He really didn’t want to open his eyes, but he felt that he had to.  He could hear a loud beeping noise, probably the alarm in his mother’s room.  So, had to get up for school soon, or help Ayako with something pretty soon.

Slowly, the young boy opened his eyes, expecting to see the poster filled, cream walls of his bedroom.  Instead, he was greeted with a glass prison wall and sights that made him wish that he was still sleeping.  For that would mean that he was having a nightmare, instead of being in a living nightmare.

It was then that he suddenly remembered all that had happened.  The door that had opened in the playground.  The pink tinted, metallic lab where they couldn’t breathe.  Ayako falling down and not moving.  The two alien robots that were coming towards him.  Then blacking out into nothingness.

Takeshi jumped up, looking frantically around the container that he now found himself in.  It was a large glass dome, similar to the small fish bowl that Ayako kept in her room.  It was perfectly circular and had a large metal roof.  He ran towards the side of the glass prison, pressing his hands up against it.  He looked around wildly, hoping to find a door, but there was nothing.  It was all smooth all the way around.  It seemed there was no way in or out.

In the middle of the glass container, lay his sister.  She was still unconscious, with her black hair fanning out around her.  She appeared to be sleeping soundly, with no indication that she was in pain.  Hopefully she would be okay, thought Takeshi, as he kneeled beside her to try and shake her awake.

Then he looked past his own prison into the other glass cages. 

It took all of the strength in his small body to keep himself from crumbling into a blubbering lump.  What Takeshi saw horrified him.  In those cages were other people, all grown-ups and all crying out.  Their clothes were in tatters and they looked like they were very close to giving up on life.

Or there were monsters beyond his worst nightmares that were clawing trying to get out.  Most likely to try to eat some of the people that were there.  Or maybe, that was why the other people were there.  To feed the monsters.

“Ayako!  Ayako!  Wake up!” Takeshi yelled, roughly shaking her to try to wake her up.  She had to be okay, she had to wake up.

“Takeshi?” Ayako said groggily as she began to regain consciousness.

“Thank the heavens!  We have to find a way to get out!”

“Get out?  Where, what are you talking about big brother?” Ayako asked before she looked up, her eyes widening and screaming.

She clung to her brother in fear, unable to process what she was seeing.  There were tears falling freely from her eyes as she looked around in utter terror, mumbling to herself that it can’t be real.  As if she was trying to convince herself that she was in a dream.

“Where are we, Takeshi?” Ayako asked tearfully.

“I do not know, Ayako, I do not know,” Takeshi replied, holding his sister as tightly to his body as possible.

Suddenly, Ayako let a terrified squeak, clinging to Takeshi’s should with all her might.  Her eyes widened in terror as she pointed to the floating, squishy brain that was observing them.  Both siblings clung harder to each other and dared not to move, hoping that the horrible creature wouldn’t see them.

Instead, the floating brain monster signalled for another floating brain, followed by another.  It seemed that they were discussing something with each other, while they gestured towards the terrified children with their long tentacles. 

The two children couldn’t move due to fright, unable to take their eyes off the monsters.  Which, were then joined by robots, actual robots, each with another one of those brain monsters in their chests.  These robot brain monsters, held some form of computers within their hands and gestured towards the glass containers front then to Takeshi and Ayako.

After a few minutes, or possibly hours, of the horrible creatures talking and gesturing, they dispersed and went to check on all the other containers around them.  Takeshi’s eyes followed the robotic monsters as he made his rounds, so that he could finally take in more of the ghastly living nightmare.

It seemed that they were in some kind of lab, like the ones that were in the cartoons they had begun to watch on Saturday morning.  There were large tubes of glowing, green ooze doted here and there, with huge computers that seemed to be recording a lot of different date.

Or it could have been an interdimensional zoo.  There seemed to be not only people and monsters in those containers, but a whole menagerie of animals that both Takeshi and Ayako had never seen before, other than in a book.  He could see tigers, lions, foxes, turtles, lizards of varying shapes, sizes and colours.

“Oi, Oi, kiddies!” came a frantic voice to the left side of their enclosure.

Both Takeshi and Ayako looked over to see a man waving at them and banging on the glass.  He seemed to be of a similar age to their father, but his skin was darker than anyone else they had ever seen before.  It was almost black, and his hair was so curly that it puffed out into a sort of ball.  His clothes looked to be in tatters, with tattoos all up and down his arms.  He also seemed to be speaking, but they were words that neither Takeshi nor Ayako could recognise.

The man seemed desperate to try and communicate with them, he begun to speak slower and louder, gesturing wildly around him.  He seemed to grow more and more frustrated with each passing moment.

“I’m sorry, Sir, I can’t understand you,” Takeshi replied with all the politeness his scared little brain could muster.

“Hello,” the man said slowly, waving his hand.

It was finally a word that Takeshi recognised.  His year had recently begun to learn English and it seemed the man was speaking that to them, rather than Japanese.  Ayako, on the other hand, had not begun to learn it yet.

“Hello,” Takeshi replied before he translated what was happening to his bewildered sister.

“Hobbs,” the man said, pointing to his chest by way of an introduction.

“Takeshi, Ayako,” Takeshi replied, pointing to himself then to his sister.

“I wish you could understand me kiddie.  I wish even more that I could tell you not to worry, but I can’t.  These things are awful,” the man, Hobbs, said quickly in English causing both Takeshi and Ayako to frown in confusion.  Neither had managed to understand a thing that was said.

“You see those poor bastards there,” Hobbs said pointing towards the monsters that were in the containers next to them.  The two children followed the direction of his finger, flinching in fear at the monsters.

“Yeah, them.  Those poor bastards were human a few days ago.  They take into that big container in the middle of the room, spray you with stuff from those animals over there.  Then they dose you with glowing goop.  Then, you’re either dead or one of those freaky things.  Don’t know which I’d prefer to be honest.  It’s a shame you two don’t understand, the only way that you’re going to know what’s happening is when you see it.  Which is horrible.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.  I’m sorry, kiddies.”

The man looked very sad when he finished.  He sat down quietly and looked lost, almost hopeless. 

Meanwhile, Takeshi and Ayako merely looked at each other and shrugged.  They had no idea what the strange man had said, or why he was suddenly looking so defeated.

“What are we to do, Takeshi-san?” Ayako asked, shaking slightly in fear.

“I do not know Ayako-chan, but I will get us out, I promise,” Takeshi answered as he pulled his younger sister into a tight hug.

 

**

 

The Kraang, those strange alien things that were either in hover machines or hidden inside the bodies of robots, kept both Ayako and Takeshi alive and in good health.  They brought them food regularly, though not any food that they had ever seen before. 

After each meal the Kraang would speak in their backwards and overcomplicated English.  The only reason the two siblings knew that they were called Kraang was due to the sheer amount of times that had heard them refer to themselves as such.  It was always, ‘Kraang this’ or ‘Kraang that’.

Neither Takeshi nor Ayako understood why they wanted to keep them alive and well.  That was, until a few days after they arrived.  At least, they assumed it was a few days after they arrived.  It was hard to keep track of time when there was no sun or moon.  Takeshi only took a guess at a few days as they had eaten several meals and slept a few times.

There seemed to be a hushed, frantic anxiety that was passing through the lab that morning.  Something that Takeshi didn’t understand.  All the adults were rocking and looking around nervously.  The man who they had been talking to, Old Hobbs, was sitting on the side of his container closest to them.  He kept on speaking and glancing around, as if waiting for something.

Looking around the lab, Takeshi did notice more Kraang robots around, rather than just the floating brain monsters.  There was also more equipment around, such as floating trolleys and small containers of the glowing stuff.

“What do you think is happening, Big Brother?” Ayako asked, glancing around nervously.

“I am unsure, Ayako-chan,” Takeshi replied.

He knocked on the glass, to get Old Hobbs attention, then when the older man looked his way the young boy pointed towards the lab.  Over the last few days they had only managed to exchange a few simple words, mainly ‘yes’, ‘no’ and their names.  Luckily, they seemed to be able to communicate non-verbally effectively enough.

The older man looked towards the gathering Kraang, knowing exactly what was going to happen.  Only wishing that it wouldn’t be him this time, and knowing that if it wasn’t, it would be his turn soon.  Most of the people who were brought in only stayed human for a matter of weeks, and he had been here for what seemed like a month.

“I’m sorry, kids,” Old Hobbs said dejectedly, tears rolling from his eyes.

This only served to confuse Takeshi more, as he did understand what the word ‘sorry’ meant.  He just didn’t understand what he had to be sorry for.

Then, as if a signal had been sent, all the Kraang robots turned in their direction.  It was a terrifying sight, seeing all their beady eyes and emotionless robot eyes turned in their direction. 

The occupants of the two containers backed up as quickly as they could, almost pushing against the back of the containers as if they could fall through the glass and escape.  Not that there was much luck there.  In the several days that they had been captured, Takeshi had felt every inch within reach for a weakness.

The two siblings were lucky, this time, the Kraang only briefly glanced at them before they rounded on Old Hobbs container.  The man losing all self of control and dignity as he wept uncontrollably, begging and pleading, ‘please, no’ and ‘don’t’.

Takeshi understood the words and the emotions that were showing.  The poor man was terrified beyond anything that he had witnessed before.  All the other humans and monsters were now looking in their direction, many coming to look at the glass with tears in their eyes, as if they all knew what would happen.

The Kraang robots opened the container, and at least a dozen piled in.  It seemed they would not render him unconscious so they instead used sheer numbers to restrain the now struggling Hobbs.  They pulled him out of the container, while he frantically grabbed a hold of anything that would keep him in the horrid prison.

The Kraang robots forcibly pulled him out of the container and strapped him onto one of the floating tables.  The Kraang robot that seemed to be in a human suit piloted the floating table with Hobbs until he was on a platform in the centre of the room. 

The monsters were now looking at the straining man with some kind of horrid curiosity painted across their scary faces, while the other humans began to fold in on themselves.  As if they knew something was going to be happening.  But, Takeshi couldn’t understand the monsters’ reactions.  It was almost as if they were human.

Once Old Hobbs was in the centre of the room another dome came up over him.  All the while he was wailing and pleading like a pig.  It was a truly gruesome sound, which caused Ayako to cover her ears and bury her head into her brothers’ chest.

A shot suddenly rang out across the lab, followed by a ferocious roar.  This caused all the occupants heads to snap towards the part of the lab that housed the collection of animals.  One of the Kraang had shot and killed a huge lion.  Its poor body was now lying across its container as the horrid robot drew a large vial of its blood.

This was then inserted to the long tube of green, glowing ooze that another Kraang was carrying.  The cacophony of noise started up again, with Hobbs’ screaming, the other people yelling, the monsters growling and the Kraang talking their backwards language.  All the while, Takeshi and Ayako could only look on in terror.

The Kraang carrying the glowing tube of ooze inserted it into the control panel of the central dome.  The ooze then went up a series of different tubes, all leading up to the top of the dome, into something that was like a sprinkler. 

It was almost mesmerising, watching the blood mix with the ooze as it travelled up the tubes.  It was so thick and vicus, with such an array of tranquil greens that it gave a sense of calm to Takeshi and Ayako.  Though, they were the only ones.

Poor Old Hobbs was screaming bloody murder while he wet himself in panic, his eyes completely focused on the travelling ooze.  Until it hit the sprinklers and begun to shower him in large droplets of the glowing goo.

The entire lab went silent, as if it was holding it breath.  Then Old Hobbs let out a bloodcurdling scream that shattered the silence of the lab and shattering whatever innocence Takeshi and Ayako had once had. 

The poor man twisted and flayed in agony,  straining against the bonds that held him tight.  All the while, the Kraang watched and took notes, as if the man before them was just a fruit fly in a biological experiment.

And that was when Takeshi realised, that he was.  The squishy brain monsters were scientist and they were the test subjects.

The realisation didn’t help ease his young mind as he continued to watch Old Hobbs thrash on the table, contorting into horrible shapes.  It was as if his body was being moved without his control, like he was trying to escape from something.

And then, the most horrible thing started to happen.  The man’s legs began to elongate, and his face looked like it was melting and being put back into shape.  He begun to sprout fur everywhere, and his hair became longer and bushier.  Long fangs began to drop down from where his teeth once were and his hands were tipped with claws.

Before their very eyes, the man they had met became some sort of monster.  A type of lion-man.

Takeshi’s eyes widened as he looked frantically around, finally realising that the monsters in the cages weren’t monster.  They had all once been people.  These horrible squishy alien brains had changed them from people into monsters by using the animals’ blood and the green glowing ooze.

The brain monsters took a still whimpering Old Hobbs back to his container once they had finished their talking.  The poor man was still whimpering and shaking.  It looked like he might keel over at any moment.

Then, every alien and robot looked in the direction of Takeshi and Ayako.

“No!” Takeshi shouted as he grabbed Ayako and pulled her to the back of the container.  He pushed her, until she was right up against the glass, behind him.

“Small humans must cooperate with Kraang,” one of the advancing robots said as it opened the glass of the container.

“No, you won’t take us!” Takeshi yelled, over the screams of his younger sister.  Every monster and human was now banging on their containers, all suddenly united at the horror of seeing two young children in fear.

Takeshi tried valiantly to protect his sister.  He punched and kicked out, hitting one of the squishy brains between its beady eyes, knocking it unconscious.  Unfortunately, he was just too small and weak to put up any real fight against the dozens of robots that had entered the container to pull both Ayako ad Takeshi apart.

The took Takeshi first.  And though he fought as hard as he could against their grasp, he was merely a boy of eight against robots that were stronger than men, he didn’t stand a chance.  They ripped him from his sister’s grasp as they both wept and screamed and begged for mercy.  But it all fell upon death ears as the robots took him towards the glass container where Old Hobbs had once been.

The strapped him onto the same floating table, before they walked out and erected the glass dome.  Takeshi struggled against the straps, his senses on overdrive as he heard Ayako crying out, the din of the others in the lab, a roar that faded from some animal and the synthetic voices droning on about what they were going to do.

He tried to pull himself out as he saw the glowing green ooze begin its ascent up the tubes towards the sprinklers.  He kept on begging and pleading, both in Japanese and the only words that he knew in English.  But it didn’t stop the progression of the ooze. 

Takeshi wanted to close his eyes as he watched the green ooze start to dribble out of the sprinklers before it started to drop in large droplets.  But he couldn’t, his eyes were glued to him impending doom.  He was frozen in fear as the glowing, green ooze hit his bare skin.  All he could see was his beloved little sister pressing against the glass of her cage, hysterical.

As soon as the first drop touched his skin, he could feel the change taking place in his body.  The pain had been unimaginable, like hot acid coursing through his veins and causing his head to pound and his skin to feel like it was on fire.  His bones felt like they were being broken over and over again, then reformed and broken again.  His eyes burned with the tears that he was shedding while they seemed to be melted and everything came into sharper focus.  The noise around him grew steadily louder until his brain pounded with the effort to shut it out, and he could smell everything, searing it into his memory forever.

His body twisted and mutated, elongating and building so much more muscle while his skin ripped open sprouting fur everywhere.  Then a sharp pain erupted at the bottom of his spine, shooting upwards.  It took a moment to realise that he was growing an extra limb.  Takeshi screamed out at the  pain until he roared in an animalistic fashion.

The pain seemed to last forever, but it was probably only a few minutes in real time.  But, the young boy didn’t care, all he wanted was for the pain to stop.  And, when it finally did, he slumped defeated to the floor of the cage, trying to catch his breath.

He was barely conscious as they took him out of the chamber and replaced him with his sister.  He could barely keep his eyes open as they dropped the same ooze onto her.  The sheer terror on her face as she contorted into something that resembled a red fox, complete with a bright bushy tail. 

He could barely hear her screams of terror and pain as he looked down at his four clawed fingers, or black and orange striped fur that was now spread all over his arm.  His mind barely piecing together that they had mutated him into a tiger boy.

That was when he had passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I did that justice. It must have hurt, suddenly regrowing body parts and sprouting new ones.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story. Please, let me know what you think.


End file.
